Which to use
“labo” and “lo” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,609
- “labo” frequency rank
- #8,119
- “lo” frequency rank
- 20728
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | labo | lo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Laboratoire. | Année. |
Where the eye mixes labo and lo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between labo and lo
A purely visual mix-up. labo (\la.bo\) and lo (\lo\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20728, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
labo is recorded at frequency rank #12,609, classified as anoun, pronounced \la.bo\. lo is at rank #8,119, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lo\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 20728, this pair ranks #366,790 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of labo vs lo
Shared letters: lo. Private to "labo": ab. Private to "lo": -.
"labo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lo" · 2 letters · shape CV
Known mistypes of this pair
- labo ← albo · labbo · laob · lbao · llabo
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "labo" and "lo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "labo" vs "lo" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "labo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #366,790 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "labo" and "lo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "labo vs lobo". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #366,790 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.